Tag: Malta

Malta becomes the 34th ILO member State and the 12th EU member State to ratify ILO MLC 2006 On 18 January 2013, the Government of Malta deposited with the International Labour Office the instrument of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006). Malta becomes the 34th ILO member State and the 12th EU member State to ratify this landmark Convention, which sets out decent working and living conditions for seafarers while creating conditions of fair competition for shipowners. Malta has under its flag vessels totalling 45.6 million gross tons representing 4.3 per cent of the world tonnage of ships.In transmitting the instrument of ratification, H.E. Dr. John Paul Grech, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations in Geneva, stated: "As a small archipelagic State at the heart of the Mediterranean, Malta has traditionally regarded the shipping sector as vital for its economic development. Today, Malta takes pride in having the largest ship register in the European Union and featuring since 2006 in the White List of the Paris MoU that endorses the flags good reputation. The ratification of the MLC, 2006, which bears further witness to Maltas commitment to quality shipping and enhanced protection of ...

Malta going green with project Port-PVE

Malta-flag cargo ship runs aground off Andros

To take part anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast The government is considering sending more Maltese soldiers to take part in an EU, anti-piracy mission off the Somali coast.Following a recent EU decision to extend Operation Atalanta by two years until the end of 2014, a government spokesman said that Malta would continue to take part in the mission, primarily through a fixed presence at the operation's headquarters in the UK. It was also possible more troops would be deployed to take part directly in action in the troubled area."Malta intends to maintain a presence in the operation's headquarters and is also considering the option of contributing further to this mission in the future with another vessel protection detachment (VPD)," the spokesman said.Since the beginning of the operation at the end of 2008, Malta has constantly deployed an Armed Forces of Malta officer to the UK headquarters of the operation. The deployment lasts for six-month.In 2010, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Dutch Ministry of Defence that catered for a 12-person (two officers and 10 other ranks) Maltese VPD to serve on the Dutch naval vessel HNLMS Johan de Witt.Malta last year extended its support by deploying a ...

Argentina to include Malta-flagged ships in a port boycott The Argentine Confederation of Transportation Workers (CATT) has resolved to include Malta-flagged ships in a port boycott response to the UK's refusal to negotiate the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands'.The resolution - passed in Buenos Aires - is intended to block British ships from docking in Argentine ports.The measure, they explained, will not affect all British ships but will be carried out "selectively and without notice," and warned it could spread "all over Latin America.""This boycott will continue. It will take British ships six hours to dock and six hours to leave port. We will continue enacting this measure for an unspecified period of time," the head of Maritime Workers, Omar Suárez, said.He said, however, that they would ask for a meeting with Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman so these actions do not overlap with the ones being carried out by the Government via diplomatic channels."We want to meet with him so we can work together and avoid interfering with what they are doing at the UN," he explained.Suárez then said that the boycott would include British ships "as well as convenient ships," which would include vessels from Malta, Georgia, Jamaica, ...

Transport Malta's reply Transport Malta has taken exception to the contents of a study published last week by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which found that ships flying the Maltese maritime flag were also the most likely in Europe to be involved in the transportation of a range of destabilising commodities that "threaten states and societies throughout the developing and developed worlds".An article entitled Maltese shipping registry Europe's largest, and most prone to illegalities appeared on our front page last week. Last week, extracts from the findings had been reported by the Associated Press, and subsequently just about everywhere else around the world, in relation to a new range of sanctions against Iran and its global shipping infrastructure.In its reply, Transport Malta stresses that:"Malta remains committed in its fight against destabilising or narcotic-related transfers and this, together with other initiatives, has been recognised by reputable companies which have chosen to register and operate their ships under the Malta flag". The full report, Maritime Transport and Destabilising Commodity Flows, can be found at: www.sipri.orgThe following is Transport Malta's reply in full:Reference to the news article by David Lindsay published in your publication on Sunday 5 February 2012, Transport Malta would ...

Regarding the suction heads of fixed emergency fire pumps form Maltese flag As already advised by ClassNK Technical Information No.TEC-0860 dated 8 August 2011, in relation to each flag state's instruction for Unified Interpretation regarding the suction heads of fixed emergency fire pumps, theAdministration of Malta has newly advised the instruction as follows.Instruction from the Administration of Malta:It is acceptable to apply Unified Interpretation IACS UI SC178 (rev.1) regarding the suction heads of fixed emergency fire pumps as it is, i.e., apply for ships contracted for construction on or after 1 January 2012.Upon receiving the reply/instruction from flag states other than the above, please be advised that ClassNK Technical Information would be issued time to time.Source: ClassNK

The ship brought cars to Malta - radiation found on to vehicles Port officials found a minimal amount of nuclear contamination on a ship which was in Malta two days ago.The MV Pleides Spirit, which is registered in Panama, brought a number of second-hand cars to Malta. It left in the evening. Other ports which the ship is due to call at have been informed, the sources said.The ship brought 105 cars to Malta.Radioactivity was found on the outside of two vehicles - a car and a van. Port workers were told not to approach them.Source: Times of Malta

Need to bring this legal notice into force It is no secret that the Maltese flag has grown steadily and become more popular within the maritime industry over the last few decades.Increasing numbers of ship owners and charterers choose to flag their vessels here because of the seriousness with which the Malta flag administration operates, the various incentives facilitating the ownership and operation of vessels under our flag, and its excellent reputation.Within this context, it is essential for us to respond and act swiftly rather than to wait passively for opportunities to fall into our lap. The internationalisation of shipping often gives rise to situations where shipping companies incorporated in one jurisdiction may need to be re-domiciled and have their status changed to that of a company set up in another.Although re-domiciliation of companies in Malta is perfectly possible in terms of the Continuation of Companies Regulations, the continuation of a foreign company under this procedure does not result in the direct conversion of the foreign company into a shipping organisation regulated by the Malta Merchant Shipping Act.Under the present system, the re-domiciled company would be regulated by the Companies Act and it is only after a further conversion that ...

Rectification of the previous notice This message cancels and replaces the previous one dated 10th February 2011.In Regulation 12 of MARPOL Annex I, as amended by Resolution MEPC.187(59), sub-paragraph 2.2 prescribes that oil residue (sludge) tank(s):"shall have no discharge connections to the bilge system, oily bilge water holding tank(s), tank top or oily water separators except that the tank(s) may be fitted with drains, with manually operated self-closing valves and arrangements for subsequent visual monitoring of the settled water, that lead to an oily bilge water holding tank or bilge well, or an alternative arrangement, provided such arrangement does not connect directly to the bilge piping system"MALTA is revoking the requirement for compliance with this requirement, at the first MARPOL Annex I Survey (annual, intermediate or renewal) carried out on or after 1 January 2011 and now requests that compliance be secured by not later than 30 June 2012.Therefore, MALTA requires that all ships of 400 gross tonnage and above, regardless of the date of construction, comply with the sub-paragraph 2.2 in Regulation 12 of MARPOL Annex I, as amended by the resolution MEPC 187(59) by not later than 30 June 2012.Source: Bureau Veritas